‘Mpanatigghi

Something you would not expect to find among the list of the ingredients of a biscuit is…meat!

However, if you go beyond your first skeptical reaction, you may taste something really delicious and unique.

These biscuits, typical of Modica (located in the province of Ragusa, in eastern Sicily), were probably created by Sicilian pastry chefs during the Spanish domination of the Kingdom of Sicily, which occurred in the 16th century; this is proven both by the etymology of the name deriving from the Spanish “empanadillas” (empanada), and by the rather unusual combination of meat and chocolate which arrived precisely in that period from Hispanic America. In past centuries, game meat was used to prepare ‘mpanatigghi, but today beef is used.

Some curious anecdotes are told around this dessert. The ‘mpanatigghi, it is said, were born at the hands of the nuns of a monastery, who (perhaps taking pity on the efforts of the preaching brothers who went around the various convents during the Lenten period) hid minced meat between the almond pesto and the chocolate dessert, whose consumption was allowed even during fasting periods, because it was considered a lean food. According to others, however, the preparation of this dessert was linked to the use of game meat during periods of overabundant hunting.